Of Floor Paint

So, continuing (somewhat) my productivity from last weekend, I managed to get my stairs, landings, and hallway floors upstairs painted. I think it turned out well. I'm pleased with the level of glossiness -- and consequently glad I didn't get the glossier, more-difficult-to-use epoxy paint. This was the tricky part, because doing the stairs and painting between spindles was a pain in the ass. Also, I had to keep Dorrie barred in a room for 4-5 hours at a time. I think she'll be happier barred out of rooms. The only pain now is moving furniture to get at the floors.

I also managed to get someone lined up to help replace the back door, which should be happening on this coming Saturday. At which time, he's also going to size up the dodgy workshop window and possibly replace it the week after. It is, I guess, conceivable that if I buckled down with the painting, I could have three more items crossed off my list in two weeks' time (making the total four).

But we'll see... none of it will happen this week, as the final performance for the French choir will be on Thursday night. This is going to involve two more longer-than-usual practices tonight and Wednesday night. And then Tuesday night I told a colleague that I'd give him a hand with a circuit he's having trouble with. On the upside, after this week, French choir is done for the summer. So it'll be nice to have Monday evenings back for a while.

This past weekend was pretty decent. Checked out Zack and Miri Make a Porno at C&A's on Friday night, which was a good flick. Saturday I headed up to Richard's cabin on Salmonier line to help him haul out some old junk, including a couch, fridge, and toilet. That night we just chilled and tossed back a few brews.

Yesterday was a little larger. I used the Kitchenaid to make pasta. It certainly helped, but it's still a wee bit labour-intensive. I guess the trick is to make a big batch once every week or two. I paired it with a pesto sauce compliments of the food processor -- most excellent.

That night, a bunch of us checked out the latest incarnation of wrestling. And it did not disappoint. Jon and Lynnette are back in town for Jon's convocation, so we introduced those folks to it -- Jon was a little overstimulated by the end of it, so it was clearly a hit. My voice is hoarse today from the amount of yelling I did.

Anyways, back at it I suppose. These long blog postings are indicative of my reduced workload...

Early returns

So, I actually managed to get an item crossed off the list this weekend. The shed roof is done. And by the looks of the forecast, it should get a minor test tonight.

This past weekend was all over the place. I'll just make a list -- it's easiest.

1. Spaghetti Squash at Ginny's. It actually does come out looking like spaghetti!
   
2. Coffee at Hava Java.
   
3. Jazz (!) at the Rose and Thistle. Those guys were good.
   
4. Early Saturday morning run. I'm still able to run for 20 minutes, which is encouraging. Not as good as some people I know, but it's a start ;)
   
5. A bit of yardwork, and sizing up the shed roof, which was not water damaged as I had feared since the fall.
   
6. Cape Spear with Ginny and Jenn (and Hendrix, Rob's dog).
   
7. Eurovision (?) at Bitter's Pub. We arrived a bit late, but caught the tail end of the rowdy. Got ourselves some Stella pint glasses!
   
8. Pool at West Side Charlies (ironically, the one in the east end)
   
9. Late night eatery at Rustler's.
   
10. Ushering at church Sunday morning.
    
11. More coffee at Hava Java with Ginny.
    
12. Kent/Canadian Tire/Chapter's run.
    
13. Baked chicken parmesan at my place.
    
14. Rock Band at C&A's.
    
15. Shed roof repairs on Monday morning.
    
16. Northern Bay Sands excursion. Guess what? The ocean is cold.
    
17. Moose burgers at the Guv'nor.
    
18. Chores (including prepping crème brulée) before crashing hard last night.
    

All in all, a great Victoria Day weekend. And the weather was awesome for all three days -- I can't remember the last May 24 when that was the case.

I'm thinking about investing in an outdoor fireplace. I had been thinking about it for a while, as it would actually be an outdoor furnishing of some sort. But now the potential aesthetic has been married to a practicality: I could burn all the loose spruce ends and dead branches in my back yard. This is the sort of stuff that's too much trouble to store in the shed and burn during the winter. And it'll certainly help with task #4 in the previous post.

Ah, fire. The biblical cleanser.

It's been a little while

Work was really busy the past couple of weeks, as we had to prepare for a lit review meeting yesterday. It went well, so now I'm back to a more relaxed state. Today we'll probably be connecting some power amps and maybe doing some radiating. Woo!

I finally used my Kitchenaid. I've noticed that cheesecakes pretty well make themselves with such a tool. I'll try it with pasta dough sometime soon, maybe over the weekend. So far, though, it's lived up to its billing. Also kitchen related, I did a mad fridge purge the other night. The vegetable drawer is now 99% less dodgy. And there's a lot more space. The only clutter in there now is an abundance of beer -- I'll try to take care of that "problem" this weekend

On a somewhat sadder note, I found out last week that my cat has a tumour. They know very little about its nature, other than it's inoperable and is next to her lungs and heart. They wanted to put her down on the spot, but she's still very active (try keeping up with her at 10:00pm), and Lord knows she still has an appetite. Apart from the odd wheeze, you'd never know there was anything wrong with her. So I'll take it a day at a time. I've been trying to dismiss it as little more than a heads-up.

Anyways, enough of that. The weather lately has been fantastic. We actually cracked 20°C for the first time this year. Today it's hella windy, but still sunny and warm. And it's actually not supposed to be shitty over the weekend. I might be able to get a few things done in the yard (gadzooks!)

On that subject, I'll going to make a list of things to get done before the fall. I don't hold a lot of hope in getting all of them done, but I won't get any done if I don't at least identify them:

1. Tar paper shed roof
   
2. Side shed
   
3. Make new shed door
   
4. Clean up back yard, for fuck's sakes
   
5. Install new back door
   
6. Replace shitty window in workshop
   
7. Dig out under house, put down vapour barrier & insulate (or least as much as possible)
   
8. Paint floors
   
9. Secure more firewood
   
10. Examine what the fuck is up with my front windows, and come up with yet another expensive, time-consuming leakproofing scheme that will undoubtedly be fruitless, because it seems like this goddamn problem will follow me to the grave
    

Yep, this summer will be buckets of fun. Any volunteers? :)

Early night, Late night, Late night

My weekend in a nutshell. Friday I headed down to Christian's with C&A. Just chewed the fat for a couple of hours while the hockey game played in the background. I was back home by 11:00pm, but the combination of the pitcher I drank, plus the walk back home, plus the 5:30am start to the day, made for a very tired Dave.

Saturday I spent money. Lots of it. In response to the blog entry I made a few weeks ago, I did find something to blow $300 on: a Kitchenaid stand mixer. Tis gorgeous. I haven't had the chance to use it yet, though, as the rest of the weekend was pretty full too.

I also bought floor paint with the goal of painting the softwoods upstairs sometime soon. Chips and spots are starting to become noticeable over the past few years of abuse. And I wasn't too keen on the reddish-now-turning-rose-because-of-sunlight colour to begin with. The paint has a fairly short drying time, so I should be able to do sections while quarantining the cat for a few hours at a time. This is going to involve a lot of furniture moving, though... ugh.

That night I had Ginny over for some chicken madras. We headed down to Dooly's for a few games of darts which was a hoot. Ginny kinda freaked me out when she nailed two inner bullseyes in one round (and the third shot was close too). Afterwards we headed to Christian's to exploit the jukebox. The first round of songs made it through all right. Then we waited for hours for the second round of songs, eventually giving up on it as the songs playing during the wait became increasingly aggravating. Got some street meat from a not-all-there vendor and then cabbed it home. George Street nights are great every now and then.

Sunday was slow getting out of the starting blocks. Ran a couple of errands, went out for supper with mudder, and then headed to the Ship to watch the Nancy Drew Burlesque Band's final show. Unfortunately, the 8:00 start became a 9:00 start, and they were the last act, so it was a rather late night. But all of the music was excellent, so no complaints.

I'm good and ready for another weekend now...

Trust me -- I'm a professional

Got home yesterday to find a few more letters after my name :) Finally got my P. Eng. I guess there was a quorum, and that my reference letter got in on time. So now the rhyming scheme is complete: B.Eng, M.Eng, P.Eng. Bengmengpeng... sounds like Chinese food.

I'm totally going to order a stamp. And apparently the certificate comes my way during the next Chapter Luncheon. They usually happen once a month. We haven't had one since February now, so hopefully that should be taking place soon. Some other good news: they didn't charge me for a whole new membership like I thought they would, but merely an upgrade. So that saves me a bit of cake.

*sigh* I suppose I should act like a professional now and get back to work ;)